New Jersey Assembly speaker Sheila Oliver gives an Assembly pin to Betty Lou DeCroce in February.
TRENTON — They are already familiar faces in Trenton, appointed months ago to watch over their parties' seats in the Assembly.
Now those seats are their own.
Assemblywomen Betty Lou DeCroce, Gabriela Mosquera and Donna Simon won special elections to the Assembly on Tuesday, according to incomplete and unofficial returns.
DeCroce, a Morris County Republican in the 26th District, defeated Democrat Joseph Raich, 61 percent to 39 percent, in a race for her late husband’s seat. Alex DeCroce, the Assembly minority leader, died in January after a marathon legislative session.
Mosquera, a Camden County Democrat in the 4th District, was first elected last November but her victory was voided by a Superior Court judge because she did not meet New Jersey’s one-year residency requirement.
Democrats appointed her to the seat anyway last year, and Tuesday, Mosquera secured it — but only until next year’s general election. She defeated Republican Shelly Lovett, 60 percent to 40 percent.
Simon, a Somerset County Republican in the 16th District, was appointed to fill out the late Peter Biondi’s term after his death last November.
With 75 percent of precincts reporting, Simon had 51 percent of the vote to challenger Marie Corfield’s 49 percent.
Before the Associated Press called the race for Simon, Corfield was still holding out hope.
"We’re virtually in a deadlock, and that’s on all the machine voting," said Corfield, a teacher who rose to fame as the subject of one of Gov. Chris Christie’s signature YouTube tongue-lashings. "The mail-in ballots, the e-mail, fax votes — all that is going to start being counted tomorrow."
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